Blood is Thicker Than Water
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: His sister is lost in madness. He pushes aside his own pain to pull her out of hers. Takes place during the series finale. Oneshot. COMPLETE.


Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.

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He jerked awake as a prickling feeling spread across his chest. "Hold still," Katara entreated. The cold prickling blended with a slick sliminess. "Hold still, Zuko." He gasped as she bent the water over his chest. She pressed her hand lightly to his shoulder and made him lie down on the cold wet stones of the courtyard. He closed his eyes.

A shrill scream jolted him back. He stared up at the darkening sky as the piercing cries tore through the silence. "Azula," he whispered.

"She tried to kill us," Katara said, her lips white. "She nearly succeeded with you."

Azula screamed. He could hear the crackle of fire under the overwhelming sound. "What happened to her?" he said hoarsely.

"Don't worry, she can't move," Katara said. She stroked his hair away from his forehead. "You're going to be all right."

She screamed again. The stars above him blurred. "What happened to my sister?" he repeated.

Katara glanced back over her shoulder. "She went crazy," she confessed. "She just started yelling. I think she…she snapped."  
The scream turned into a taut, sobbing wail. He propped himself up on his elbow, pushing through his dizziness to focus. Azula struggled with the chains binding her to a grate. Fire burst from her fingertips. She slumped against her bonds and screamed again.

He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling against the wave of pain that coursed through his body. "Don't be stupid," Katara said. "You need to rest. You're really hurt."

He ignored her.

"You're just going to make your injury worse," she persisted.

He limped across the wide expanse of the courtyard, avoiding the torn and crushed stones left behind from his fight. Azula sobbed as she struggled against her chains. His chest burned.

"Don't do it, Zuko," Katara said through her teeth. "They're just crocodile tears. She doesn't mean it."  
He pushed forward, swallowing the strong desire to succumb to the darkness that clung to the corner of his vision. Carefully he knelt down beside his sister. "Azula," he said.

She lunged for him, snapping her white teeth. He dodged. "What do you want?" she shrieked.

He sat down. "I'm here," he sighed, leaning his elbows on his bent knees. "I'm here."

"What good does that do?" she shouted, the pitch of her voice climbing ever upwards. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Don't let her go," Katara said. He glanced out of the corner of his good eye to see her standing a little ways behind him, ice clustered around her hands. "Step back. I can take her out from here."

"Don't," he said.

Azula screamed. Her voice tangled in her throat and came out in a strangled noise. "What do you want with me?" she demanded.

Zuko looked at his little sister. Her eyes were lost and wild; her uneven hair fell lank and limp over her face. "I don't want anything," he said in a low, quiet voice.

"Everyone wants something," she rasped.

"Well, then, what do you want?" he asked.

She rattled her chains. "I want out," she growled. "I want out, I want out, I want out." Her voice trailed up in a tight, high-pitched shriek.

"Out of what?"

She shook in her bonds. "I want out," she whispered. "I don't want it. I don't want it anymore."  
"I know," he said. "I know, Az."

Her red lips trembled. "Az," she repeated. "That's me."  
"Yeah, Az, that's you," he said.

She bit her lip. Blood dripped onto her chin. "I don't want it, Zuko," she whispered.

"I know, Az," he said.

Cautiously, he touched his hand against her cheek. Her skin felt as smooth and cool as marble. She closed her eyes. Tears touched against his fingertips. She began to cry, her mouth gaping with chest-wracking sobs that caught in her throat.

Zuko closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his sister. "I'm here, Az," he said. "I'm here."

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**Author's Notes:**

Aaaaand some useless Zuko and Azula sibling stuff.

I've wanted to write this since the series finale, but I could never get it right. I still don't think it's right, but at least it's put together. What do you think?


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